Linen waters tutorial up on craftstylish!

Check out my newest craftstylish tutorial, a quick recipe for making linen waters/room freshener.

Soldiering on...

It's been a planes, trains, and automobiles kind of a week, as I have missed connections, been on a flight that returned to the departing airport, sat in an airport for eight-plus hours, and gotten up at the crack of dawn. Today, I drove across Kansas and arrived in Emporia this afternoon for my lecture at Emporia State, only to find that I was on standby because of a suspicious backpack.

A backpack was abandoned in the building where I was supposed to speak so the bomb squad was called in.

Everything turned out fine (I'd hate to be the owner of that darn backpack) and my Worst-Case Scenario slide show program was only delayed by a few minutes, but somehow I'm feeling as if I'm in the middle of a Final Destination movie. Did I somehow cheat death recently and don't realize it?

Here I am with the awesome University Activities Committee members from ESU, some of whom took me out to Applebees for dinner. I heart fatty salads.

Tomorrow: On the road by 7:30 to get to my lecture in Chicago on time.

Scenes from Nebraska

Just a few pictures from my short and sweet trip to visit my brother John and his family in North Platte, Nebraska. Check out the handwritten ticket from the incredibly lame Great Lakes Airlines (I was stuck in Denver for 8 1/2 hours with this rinky-dink airlines on Monday). Classic.

Jon Stewart + Brian Williams = comedy magic

My favorite photo from Bumbershoot

My musician friend Dan, my high school friend Kevin, and me at the John Vanderslice show.

Make a Shrinky Dink necklace

My shrink plastic necklace tutorial is up on craftstylish. With just some rubber stamps and shrink plastic, you too can make a fun and personalized necklace.

A few shots from Bumbershoot 08

I should have been working yesterday but my high school pal Kevin came into town for Bumbershoot so I had to go with him, right? We saw my beloved Neko Case, Lucinda Williams, Band of Horses, and Beck on the mainstage (Beck was rockin', kicking off his set with "Loser"), wandered around the Seattle Center looking for bratwurst and roasted corn, checked out the Flatstock show—I'm obsessed with a certain Breakfast at Tiffany's poster by Diana Sudyka—and checked out the great indie crafts (I love you and your tooled leather goods, Kim Sun). I particularly loved a performance by members of an Australian troupe called Strange Fruit—two couples swayed and spun on tall, bendable poles. It was magical and whimsical.

Today, I'm sending Kevin off to Bumbershoot and it's back to work for me.

Hear me on A Chef's Table this weekend

Finally, my interview about The Prairie Girl's Guide to Life for A Chef's Table airs this weekend on your local NPR station. If you are around the radio, check it out. You can also look online here. Just click on the "listen" button on the left and go to about 26:43 into the broadcast. Woo hoo!

Piper loves a party

My favorite little pal Piper turned three and we celebrated yesterday in the CoSos' backyard. It didn't take long for the kids to get nekkid in the pool and to don princess costumes. Piper celebrated in grand fashion, turning everyone into chocolate with her magic wand. I was a Chocolate Chickaboom (Piper's nickname for me) in short order.

Whidbey girls' weekend

Long overdue, a group of us got together this weekend on Whidbey Island at the ridiculously tricked-out Soaring Eagle Lodge to celebrate Laurel's upcoming nuptials. We drank, ate lasagne and pie, read trashy mags, looked at an eaglet in its nest, watched Roman Holiday (see the clip below), hot tubbed, munched on fish and chips at Toby's Tavern (the salmon and chips never, ever disappoint), but mostly spent time with each other laughing and philosophizing. But mostly laughing.

We can't wait to do it again.

Of course I started a new knitting project (a feather-and-fan shawl in the yummy grey/blue/brown yarn I bought at Boersma's last weekend in McMinnville). Even drunk on countless gin & tonics, I had to keep my hands busy. No matter where I go, I'm still there.